Apple Inc

Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered and
incorporated in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics,
software, and services. Founded in 1976, the company was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. by
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs the following year. Apple is the largest technology company by
revenue, with US$383.29 billion in 2023. The company was founded to produce and market
Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. Its second computer, the Apple II, became a best seller as one
of the first mass-produced microcomputers. Apple introduced the Lisa in 1983 and the Macintosh in
1984, as some of the first computers to use a graphical user interface and a mouse. By 1985, internal
company problems led to Jobs leaving to form NeXT, Inc., and Wozniak withdrawing to other
ventures; John Sculley served as long-time CEO for over a decade. In the 1990s, Apple lost
considerable market share in the personal computer industry to the lower-priced Wintel duopoly of
the Microsoft Windows operating system on Intel-powered PC clones. In 1997, Apple was weeks
away from bankruptcy. To resolve its failed operating system strategy, it bought NeXT, effectively
bringing Jobs back to the company, who guided Apple back to profitability over the next decade with
the introductions of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices to critical acclaim as well as the iTunes
Store, launching the "Think different" advertising campaign, and opening the Apple Store retail chain.
These moves elevated Apple to consistently be one of the world's most valuable brands since about
2010. Jobs resigned in 2011 for health reasons, and died two months later; he was succeeded as CEO
by Tim Cook.
Apple Park is the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley.
1976–1980: Founding and incorporation
In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple in Jobs's parents' home on Crist Drive in Los
Altos, California. [9] Wozniak called the popular belief that the company was founded in the garage
"a bit of a myth",[10] although they moved some operations to the garage when the bedroom
became too crowded.
The Apple I is Apple's first product, designed by Wozniak and sold as an assembled circuit board
without the required keyboard, monitor, power supply, and the optional case.
The Apple II, introduced in 1977 and designed primarily by Wozniak, was the company's first major
success.
1980–1990: Success with Macintosh
In December 1979, Steve Jobs and Apple employees, including Jef Raskin, visited Xerox PARC, where
they observed the Xerox Alto, featuring a graphical user interface (GUI). Apple subsequently
negotiated access to PARC's technology, leading to Apple's option to buy shares at a preferential rate.
This visit influenced Jobs to implement a GUI in Apple's products, starting with the Apple Lisa.
Despite being pioneering as a mass-marketed GUI computer, the Lisa suffered from high costs and
limited software options, leading to commercial failure.
1990–1997: Decline and restructuring
The company pivoted strategy and, in October 1990, introduced three lower-cost models: the
Macintosh Classic, the Macintosh LC, and the Macintosh IIsi, all of which generated significant sales
due to pent-up demand.[54] In 1991, Apple introduced the hugely successful PowerBook with a
design that set the current shape for almost all modern laptops. The same year, Apple introduced
System 7, a major upgrade to the Macintosh operating system, adding color to the interface and
introducing new networking capabilities.
1997–2007: Return to profitability
The NeXT acquisition was finalized on February 9, 1997,[72] and the board brought Jobs back to
Apple as an advisor. On July 9, 1997, Jobs staged a boardroom coup that resulted in Amelio's
resignation after overseeing a three-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. The
board named Jobs as interim CEO and he immediately reviewed the product lineup. Jobs cancelled
70% of models, ending 3,000 jobs and paring to the core of its computer offerings.
2007–2011: Success with mobile devices
During his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the renaming
of Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple Inc., because the company had broadened its focus from computers
to consumer electronics.[106] This event also saw the announcement of the iPhone[107] and the
Apple TV. [108] The company sold 270,000 first-generation iPhone devices during the first 30 hours
of sales,[109] and the device was called "a game changer for the industry".
2011–present: Post-Jobs era, Tim Cook
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died, marking the end of an era for Apple.[131] The next major
product announcement by Apple was on January 19, 2012, when Apple's Phil Schiller introduced
iBooks Textbooks for iOS and iBook Author for Mac OS X in New York City. [132] Jobs stated in the
biography Steve Jobs that he wanted to reinvent the textbook industry and education.
Marketing
According to Steve Jobs, the company's name was inspired by his visit to an apple farm while on a
fruitarian diet. Apple's first logo, designed by Ron Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an
apple tree. It was almost immediately replaced by Rob Janoff's "rainbow Apple", the now-familiar
rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it. This logo has been erroneously
referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide. On
August 27, 1999, Apple officially dropped the rainbow scheme and began to use monochromatic
logos nearly identical in shape to the previous rainbow incarnation. An Aqua-themed version of the
monochrome logo was used from 1998 until 2003, and a glass-themed version was used from 2007
until 2013.
On March 16, 2020, France fined Apple €1.1 billion for colluding with two wholesalers to stifle
competition and keep prices high by handicapping independent resellers. The arrangement created
aligned prices for Apple products such as iPads and personal computers for about half the French
retail market. According to the French regulators, the abuses occurred between 2005 and 2017 but
were first discovered after a complaint by an independent reseller, eBizcuss, in 2012.
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1997–2007: Return to profitability

2007–2011: Success with mobile devices

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